And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 26!
Almost there…I am so looking forward to thanksgiving. I can practically taste the food already.
Whoa! What the hell happened? I normally get around 14 reviews per chapter, but this time I got over 30! Did I do something differently?
I always enjoy reading the theories you guys throw around concerning what I have planned. Some of you guys are right -sometimes scarily so-, some of you guys are wrong -sometimes hilariously so-, and then some of you are half right.
This chapter is meh.
I've posted a FAQ on my profile if you're curious.
LorgGhostStriker: I'm behind on Hunter of the Dark by a few chapters and haven't read it in a while, meaning I don't remember what the summons were in that. I'd check, but I'm also lazy. And I have never read a story with a light heartless concept, but sounds interesting.
ARSLOTHES: The Kyūbi guardian thing would come in later if I do it.
prototype gear: I know, right?! Everybody seems to do that! I'm not against it, but it really is a common thing. And I've never even thought of mechs as a contract…well, besides in Rise of the EggFox Empire…
plums: So you wanted me to give him a curse mark? That was what I was planning on, but popular opinion vetoed that.
dotJKLO: Was that first part sarcasm? Sorry, but I'm having a little trouble telling. I apologize at the speed I'm going at if it is.
Azarune: Thanks! I have always enjoyed imagining scenarios in my head about how things could have gone or if another universe was added in the mix. Fanfiction is just a way for me to bring it out.
NecroSaintCreed: You're worrying over nothing, I've got this.
VitaSen: Thanks! I think it's because there aren't that many people who read this crossover category. It has a lot of stories, but that doesn't mean a lot of people read it.
Guest: That made me laugh. Nobody has taken that seriously before.
Dominus1: You've probably figured it out already, but Saito isn't a main character.
InfernoOfChaos: Thanks! It's probably because this story is only 3 months old and isn't in a popular category. There are plenty of stories, sure, but that doesn't mean plenty of people read them. There's only one story here that is even above 1k favorites/follows and that thing is over 8 years old.
Anyways, on with the story!
I don't own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts or anything else. I'm just a broke college student...
Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Biju/Diety Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Biju/Diety Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Scene Change: Insert Place Here
Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here
Last Updated: 1/17/19 (Removed some stuff to improve quality)
Urahara shop (Day of the Final Exam)
"Got your kunai?"
"Yep."
"Got your shuriken?"
"You know it."
"Got your other tools?"
"Probably."
"Remember who you're up against?"
"Yeah."
"How abou-"
"Soifon-san! I'm fine, really! You don't need to go over every little thing." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes.
Soifon smirked playfully before shrugging. "I'm not too sure about that…" Her amused eyes followed Naruto's form as he scrambled around the room to gather all of his supplies. "It looks to me like you have some trouble keeping track of things.
Naruto scowled, but couldn't exactly refute. "It's not like I wanted to have that training session in the Station of Awakening last that long. Before I even realized it, I was running late."
"Well, I wouldn't say late…but you sure are cutting it close." Soifon said with an amused tone as she glanced at the clock. "I'm pretty sure you need to be there in about fifteen minutes…"
"I know. Thank you for the reminder…" Naruto finished his rapid movement around the room as he grabbed his forehead protector and secured it around his head. "Well, I guess I'm off." He turned towards the door, but paused when he Soifon stepped in front of him with ever increasing amusement. "What?"
Soifon didn't respond verbally, she merely pointed to the object that was on the desk. Confused, Naruto turned to see what she was pointing to, only to smile sheepishly and rub the back of his head. "Whoops." He walked over to pick up the rectangular case and secured it on his leg. "Not my fault. I'm still not used to carrying this thing."
"Well get used to it. It would suck if you didn't have it when you needed it." She shook her head. "Anyways, you really should hurry." Nodding to her, Naruto quickly walked through the door and made his way to the exit of the shop. He was just about to walk out the door when he was interrupted.
"Wait a moment, Naruto-kun! You wouldn't leave before seeing me, would you?" With a tired sigh, Naruto turned to face the grinning form of Urahara.
"You were holed up in your stupid lab a moment ago. I wasn't about to risk myself to go see you." Naruto retorted.
The candy store owner just grinned behind his fan. "Oh how cruel! My student doesn't even wish to speak to me! What if I had some wise advice that I wished to share with you?"
Naruto simply stared at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow. "Do you?" Suddenly, Urahara's entire presence changed as he stared at Naruto. Naruto, seeing the change, unconsciously tensed in preparation.
"Try not to embarrass yourself too much!" And just like that, irritation flared through Naruto and the tense atmosphere dissipated instantly.
"Freaking dumbass…" Naruto muttered before turning away.
"But seriously, make sure to keep your guard up." The serious tone made him turn back to Urahara. The fan was put away and the look in his eyes displayed just how serious he was. "Remember what is going to happen today. If you need to forfeit to save some energy, do it. It is better to be able to fight when it really matters than during a test."
Naruto nodded in response. "Right."
He got a nod in return. "Good." The serious air dissipated again and Urahara smiled, but it wasn't one of his usual infuriating ones. "Soifon and I will be around. You might not see us, but we'll be there."
This greatly surprised Naruto. "You're coming to the exam?" It was nice to know that they will be coming to support him.
"Well of course! No matter how much of an embarrassment you are, you are still my student! What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't even come to see the failures of my student?"
'I swear to kami, I will snap and kill him one day.' Naruto spun around back towards the door. "Whatever. Come or don't come, it doesn't matter to me." And with that, he was out the door and on his way to the exam arena.
Urahara chuckled as he watched him leave. "He's as much fun to mess with as Ichigo-kun…"
"While I admit it is extremely amusing, you really should let up on the poor kid a bit." Soifon said as she walked up to him. Urahara just shrugged unrepentantly, grin still present on his face.
"I like to think I'm building his patience and teaching how to keep a cool head."
"Pretty words. And the actual reason?"
"Like I said, it's pretty fun."
Konoha Stadium
Although he didn't show it, Minato was starting to get anxious. It was nearly time for the opening of the final exam, but Naruto still hadn't shown up. He glanced back to the line of genin that were standing in the center of the arena. Even from up in the kage booth above the giant screen, Minato was able to tell that Naruto wasn't among them. If he didn't hurry he would be late.
"I am sure that Naruto-san is nearly here, Hokage-sama. He probably just lost track of time." Minato looked to the man that was standing a little off to the side of his seat.
The man was wearing the standard Konoha jōnin attire. He had spiky black hair and dark eyes. The most eye catching feature of the man was the large scar on the left side of his face that spread across the bridge of his nose.
Minato sighed. "That's probably it. I'm just worried that he won't make it in time, Raidō."
Raidō nodded in understanding before a small smirk appeared on his face. "I would be more worried about the Uchiha showing up on time, what with him training with Kakashi." The smirk grew when he heard the responding sigh from the Hokage.
"Kushina will kill Kakashi if he makes Sasuke late..." He really wished that Kakashi didn't insist on upholding that reputation on always being late. He understood why Kakashi did it, but still...Minato looked up when he heard someone approaching and smiled when he saw who it was. He quickly stood up to greet the man.
"I'm happy to see that you were able to make it."
"Humph. As if I would come to see my team sweep this thing."
Minato sweat dropped a bit but couldn't help the growing smile on his face. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. My own genin are pretty tough, Raikage-dono."
The man in front of Minato was a muscular, tall, dark skinned man with whitish-blond hair that was combed back along with a small mustache and beard. He had pronounced cheekbones along with tear troughs under his eyes and a crease along his forehead. His outfit consisted only of black pants, a golden belt with a boar on it, and black shinobi sandals that were white and red around the shins. On either of his arms were gold bangle bracelets. Similar to the haori Minato was wearing that was red, this man wore a yellow haori. On his head was a kage hat with the kanji for "lightning."
The man rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that. I would rather not do the whole formality thing."
Minto smiled wryly and shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I wasn't looking forward to keeping it up for hours on end." He offered a hand. "Good to see you again, A-san."
A smirked and grasped the hand with his own. "Same to you, Minato." He applied more force to his hand, making Minato suppress a wince. "I have been wanting to get a rematch in with you at some point. We never did finish our last fight..."
The Hokage laughed nervously as he pried his hand away. "I am sorry to say that I will have to decline...I don't think that a fight between the two of us will send a good message to our villages..." A opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.
"Come on blondie, are you scared to face the might that is Killer B?" Minato blinked and turned to Killer B.
"Oh, hello there, B-san. It is nice to see you as well." B nodded back in return.
"Yo! Lord B is here so don't fret no mo-Gah!" B was interrupted when A whirled around and grabbed his head with one of his hands.
"Don't go interrupting a conversation between two kage, moron!" A raged. "You know better than to do that!"
"Sorry! I'm sorry! It won't happen again, Bro! I swear!" B shouted as he gripped A's wrist in an attempt to free himself.
"Being sorry won't change the fact that you did it! For that you get the claw!" A tightened his grip.
"Gah! Too much! Too much! That freaking hurts, ya fool!"
"Who you calling a fool?!"
Minato and Raidō just watched the interaction between the two with sweat drops. "I feel like I've seen this before..." Raidō muttered as his mind went to the relationship between Kushina and Kakashi…and Jiraiya as well. "But a bit different..." Knowing exactly what he was referring to, Minato chuckled a bit.
A sigh from nearby grabbed their attention. "I'm sorry about them, Hokage-sama. The boss is often like that. It gets a little dull after a while..."
Turning to the one who had spoken, Minato noted that it was a man a few years younger than Kakashi. He was a fairly tall, dark skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, bored looking black eyes, and shaggy white hair that covered his left eye. He wore a dark uniform consisting of a sleeveless top with a high collar, loose fitting pants, bandages on his wrists, and the standard Kumo flak jacket. He had multiple tattoos on him, but the one that caught Minato's attention was the one depicting black lightning. On his back was a folded up sword.
"It's not a problem. That is simply the type of relationship they have. We have a few people like that here in Konoha." Minato said with a smile.
The man nodded. "So this is nothing new to you? That must be pretty dull..." He said with a sigh.
'I'm getting the impression that is guy is almost a Nara at heart.' Raidō thought to himself.
Before anything more could be said, A tossed B to the ground and turned to the other Kumo Nin. He nodded in approval. "At least you know how show respect, Darui." The now named Darui just nodded in response. A looked around the booth. "Are we the only ones coming, Minato?"
Minato shook his head in response. "I received a letter from Rasa-dono saying that he would attend. He should be arriving shortly." His mind went to the planned invasion. 'He would of course come to oversee the attack...' Just then, another presence grabbed his attention. Minato smiled. "I believe that's him now." He turned to the entrance of the booth.
Walking in at the time was a man who was obscured by his outfit. He was wearing a green kimono, a white haori, and the green kage hat with the kanji for "wind" on it. Most of his face was covered by the white cloth he had on as a mask.
Seeing who it was, Minato plastered a smile onto his face as he greeted the man. "Kazekage-dono, it is good to see that you were able to make it."
The Kazekage nodded back. "I wouldn't miss this. I am looking forward to seeing how our genin perform." Minato just nodded back. The cloaked man turned to A. "It is nice to see you as well, Raikage-dono."
A regarded the man for a moment before nodding. "Kazekage-dono." He said gruffly. He respected Minato, and that showed in the way he treated him. To A, Minato was someone he was willing to disregard formalities with. That was the way A showed respect. The Kazekage however, was not held in a similar regard.
Minato looked between the other two kage. "Well, now that the both of you are here, we should be starting soon."
The Raikage glanced down into the arena. "It looks like there are a couple missing, Minato."
The cloaked man nodded in agreement. "Indeed. And two of them are the ones I was looking forward to seeing the most..."
"As unfortunate as it is, we cannot wait simply for a few late genin..." Although he said that, Minato was really wishing that Naruto would show up. He was starting to think that something may have happened...
In the Stands
"Where the heck is he? He will be late if he doesn't hurry..." A worried Kushina said to herself. A large group consisting of the Konoha genin that didn't advance and their sensei, bar Kakashi were seated together in the stands.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Naruto will be here any moment now." Yūgao reassured Kushina from her seat. An amused smile grew on Yūgao's face. "Sasuke on the other hand...Well, we just need to hope that Kakashi decides to show up soon."
Kushina scowled at that. "I can't believe it-ttebane! I swear, if Kakashi-kun's bad habits wore off on Sasuke..."
"You don't think that Sasuke-kun will be late for his match, do you?" Sakura asked in a slightly worried tone.
"Can't say for sure. It might honestly happen if left up to Kakashi..." Yūgao said. Sakura and Ino traded worried glances.
"Don't sweat it! I'm sure that Naruto and Sasuke will make it!" Kiba said with a grin. "Right Akamaru?"
"Arf!"
"But they better hurry, I think it's going to start soon." Saito said.
"You think something happened?" Ikusa asked his teammates quietly.
Misa shook her head. "I don't know about the Uchiha, but Naruto is probably just running late. You know how he likes to sleep…" This got chuckles from her teammates.
Down in the Arena
"Where the heck is he?! First he leaves for a month, and then he is late for the exam-ttebane!" Narumi shouted in annoyance.
Menma shrugged. "Eh, give it a bit. It hasn't started yet, so he still isn't late. And even then, he isn't fighting first."
"But still!" The frown on Narumi's face grew as she looked around again. "Sasuke isn't here either!"
Menma looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "And what were you expecting to happen when he was training with Kakashi-nii?"
Narumi thought about it before slumping. "You're right. I shouldn't have expected anything else..."
Her brother nodded and looked at the other present genin. A smirk worked its way onto his face. "I think we should count ourselves as lucky that Shikamaru even showed up." This elicited a sigh from the Nara.
"Troublesome. I would never hear the end of it if I didn't come."
"Whksh."
Shikamaru glared at Menma. "You and I both know how annoying Ino can be, not to mention my mom. I am justified to be this way without being whipped. Plus, you're the same with your own mother." His eyes turned to the entrance of the arena before nodding in that direction. "And stop arguing about Naruto, he's here." Narumi instantly whirled around while Menma blinked and turned.
"About time, Nii-chan! You were almost late!" Despite the glare she was trying to give, Narumi couldn't fully hold back her smile.
Naruto walked over to them with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that. I lost track of time..."
Shikamaru shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You aren't late." He glanced to the kage booth. "But if you were just a minute later you probably would have been..." They turned in the direction of the booth when Minato stood up.
Back in the Stands
"That was cutting it closer than I would have liked..." Kushina said as she slumped back into her seat.
Yūgao grinned at her. "You see? Nothing to worry about. I knew he would make it."
"But it looks like Kakashi and his student aren't going to be on time." Asuma said with an amused smirk.
Kushina scowled again. "I'll be sure to teach him why it is inappropriate to be late after the exam..."
In the Kage Booth
Minato sighed internally in relief when he saw his oldest son walk into the arena. 'Thank kami. That was cutting it close.'
"Looks like your brat cut it a little close, Minato." A said offhandedly.
"But he still made it on time, so no harm done." Minato smiled. "So, shall we start this thing off?" He asked the other two kage and got a pair of nods in return. Seeing the nods, Minato stood up and walked to the railing of the booth to address the crowd. Seeing the Hokage stand up and raise a hand was enough to garner silence.
After waiting a moment for the rest of the chatter to die down, Minato spoke up, his voice being carried throughout the stadium with the speakers spread out in various places. "Ladies and Gentlemen." Minato began. "I would like to welcome you all to the final stage of the chūnin exam!" The crowd cheered in approval. "Whether you hail from Konoha, Kumo, Suna, or even Tetsu, welcome!"
Minato gestured to the line of genin. "The genin you see before you have fought through multiple stages and trials to make it this far in the hopes of becoming chūnin. And today, they will show us why they are worthy of becoming one. They will fight in one on one bouts in a tournament bracket style. Raikage-dono, Kazekage-dono, and I will judge them during each fight to determine if they are ready for the promotion." Minato looked around with a bright grin. "Now, I'm sure you don't really want to hear any more talking, are you ready to get started?" The crowd roared in approval. "Alright then, I hand the stage off to you, Genma." A man Body Flickered into the center of the arena as Minato turned back to his fellow kage.
A raised an amused eyebrow. "You really know how to work a crowd, Minato. That sucked and they still cheered like a bunch of academy genin seeing shinobi spar."
Minato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I think it was more to do with the fact that I kept it brief so the fights could start." He sat in his seat with a smile. "Now, I think we should also enjoy the show, don't you?"
Back in the Arena
The man who just appeared in the center the arena was wearing the standard Konoha jōnin outfit. The only modification made was that he wore a bandana style forehead protector. His brown hair reached his shoulders and he had brown eyes. In his mouth was a senbon.
He looked at the genin and nodded. "I'm Genma Shiranui. I will be the proctor of the final exam."
Menma blinked. "What happened to Hayate-san? I thought he was the proctor."
Genma was silent for a moment. "...Something happened a few weeks after the preliminaries. He is no longer able to be the proctor because of it." Not a lie, but not the entire truth.
'So they planned to make it seem like Hayate-san died...' Naruto thought to himself.
"Now then. It is time for us to get started. Any of you have questions?"
"…What happens to those who are not yet here?" Shikamaru asked. Genma turned his attention to him.
"Those who are not here for their match are disqualified. They will automatically forfeit the match and the opponent will move on to the next round." Genma looked at the other genin. "Any other questions?" None were raised, prompting Genma to nod. "Alright. I now ask that everyone but those in the first match vacate the arena. You are able to go into the competitor box to view the fight."
Naruto and Narumi stuck around to speak with Menma. "Come to wish me luck? I appreciate it, but I've got this in the bag." Menma told them with a smirk.
"It amazes me that your head is able to get that big without popping." Narumi said as she rolled her eyes.
"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents. Some of them just happen to make me even more awesome. I'm only a jackass if I'm overconfident and then lose." Menma said.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "So you are confident in your win then?" He asked.
Menma's smirk grew. "Yeah, I got this." His gaze shifted over to the blank face of Neji. "I think that a little humiliation will do him some good…" The smirk grew bit vicious.
"I ask once again that all non-competitors of the first match leave the arena."
Naruto nodded to Menma with a smirk. "Well then, as long as you know what you're doing. Be sure to show him why you don't mess with our friends." Narumi quickly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! Kick his ass for Hinata!"
"Of course." He gave them a playful shooing motion. "Now get lost, people have come to see my awesomeness and you are putting it off." The two older siblings rolled their eyes before walking towards the stairs.
Once they were gone, Neji spoke up. "You are confident, but do you really think that you are going to defeat me?"
The smirk on Menma's face never wavered. "Oh, I don't think I will." He slid into a battle stance. "I know I'm about to kick your ass."
Neji scowled before scoffing. "You may present more of a challenge, but it still is your fate to lose." He slid into his own battle stance. "Allow me to show you why."
Seeing that the both of them were ready, Genma raised a hand. "Match one between Neji of Konoha and Menma of Konoha." The spectators were growing increasingly restless in anticipation. "Begin!" Genma swiftly lowered the hand and jumped back.
Menma and Neji just stood there staring at one another, willing the other to make the first move. "What's wrong? Too scared to come at me?" Menma taunted.
The scowl on Neji's face grew but he didn't take the bait. "I can say the same to you. Why do you not charge at me like your opponent in the preliminaries? Is that not your normal fighting style?"
"Hmm…" Menma tilted his head in thought. After a moment, a wide grin grew across his face. "You know what? You're right!" He immediately dashed forward, catching Neji a bit off guard.
With the Competitors
"Is he seriously rushing in to have a hand to hand fight against a Hyūga?" Naruto asked dubiously.
"…Looks like it. Troublesome. He should know that's stupid." Shikamaru responded.
Naruto shifted his eyes to his sister, who had a wide grin on her face. "You look like you know something we don't. Want to share?"
Narumi looked at him before looking back to the match. "Just wait and see! I only know about this because I spent a lot of the last month with him. It's actually a good idea."
"…I'll take your word for it…" Naruto said before looking back to the match.
"It will never work." They turned to Tenten, who had a smirk on her face. "I have no clue what he is planning, but it will never work against Neji. He's too much of a genius."
Naruto considered her words before a small smirk appeared on his face, making her falter. "But there are times that even a genius can lose…"
Back in the Arena
'What's he playing at? Rushing in close to engage in taijutsu is foolish…' Deciding that his opponent was dumber than he thought, Neji prepared himself to attack. Waiting for the right moment, Menma sent a swift strike to Neji. Seeing this coming, Neji deflected the attack before delivering a jab to Menma's chest. After the attack landed, Neji swiftly jumped back with a smirk.
That smirk soon fell when he saw that no damage was done.
"What? Is that it? I couldn't even feel anything there." Menma taunted. Neji scowled again before deciding to be the one to reengage. He rushed back in and sent another jab to Menma's sternum. This time, Menma moved out of the way and responded with a kick to the offending limb.
Neji saw the attack and caught the leg with his other hand, but underestimated the power behind it and was pushed back. Menma used the chance to follow up with another blow that managed to land on Neji's side.
Grunting in pain and surprise, Neji quickly recovered and sent multiple jabs to Menma. Only half of them were blocked while the others landed. Neji jumped away again with a smirk, but it quickly fell like the last when he saw that Menma remained unaffected. "What is this?" Neji growled. "How are you able to shrug off all of my attacks?" He demanded.
The smirk never left Menma's face as he shrugged. "Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Menma shrugged. "Or not. I may beat you down before you get a chance to figure it out."
Neji scowled even more. "I see that you will be more difficult to beat than I had anticipated." He slid into a battle stance. "I will have to take this more seriously." He closed his eyes for a moment before snapping them back open. This time, Menma saw that he had his Byakugan activated.
"Heh. Hey, maybe now with your 'all-seeing eyes' you will be able to figure out what I'm doing to make all your attacks useless." That taunt made Neji growl and rush back in.
Menma dodged and deflected the attacks that he could, but Neji was still pressing him hard. Eventually, Menma was in a position that made him realize he wasn't going to be able to dodge or deflect the next attack.
"I have you now!" Neji sent a strong strike to Menma's chest and Menma was unable to get out of the way in time. Deciding on his next course of action, Menma took the hit and used the chance to slug a shocked Neji in the face, throwing him back.
Neji tumbled for a few feet before quickly regaining his bearings and rolled on his feet. The shocked look never left his face. "You…" Neji began.
Menma sighed, but an amused smile was on his lips. "Aw, I guess you saw it then?"
The scowl came back to Neji immediately after. "You…are sending pulses of your chakra to the areas I'm going to strike in order to negate the chakra I send into your body when I attack…Making it as if I'm merely jabbing at you without any chakra."
A slow clap came from Menma. "You got it! The way I see it, you only have your Hyūga clan style to attack me with. But what happens if all of those attacks are useless? Then what would you do?" Menma's smirk turned vicious. "I'm guessing there's not much you could do, right?"
A growl escaped Neji's throat. "But to keep that up during a fight would drain you of all your chakra in minutes!"
Menma nodded in agreement. "You would normally be right. If not for two important facts…The first is that I'm only sending the chakra to the places that I know you are going to attack, so I don't have to keep it going over my entire body…I doubt I can keep such a steady control across my body anyways…The second is…do you really think I will run out of chakra any time soon? Me of all people?"
It immediately dawned on Neji why that notion was implausible. Not only was Menma half Uzumaki, he also had half of the Kyūbi's chakra sealed in him. The scowl grew deeper on the older genin's face. "But how could you do this without practicing first? This kind of technique needs time to train."
Menma shrugged. "Who said I didn't practice? I know someone who was willing to help me when I asked her. She was really nice about it and even gave me some advice…"
Neji caught on quickly. "Hinata-sama was the one to help you, wasn't she?"
"You got it!" Menma crouched. "Now then, I think we should continue this before people get bored, don't you?" Without waiting for a response, Menma rushed back in.
With the Competitors
"Using a pulse of chakra to negate the chakra in the attack…That's pretty smart. But I imagine that not many people would be able to imitate it due to the chakra consumption it requires…" Naruto noted.
Narumi smiled with a nod. "It pretty much requires you to have more chakra than your opponent, especially because Menma is using it to coat an entire limb or area as opposed to the small bursts that Neji is using. Neji is older than us and more experienced, so most of the competitors here might not be able to do it. A half Uzumaki that also contains part of the Kyūbi, however…"
Naruto smirked as he watched Menma shrug off another blow before responding with his own combo. "Neji doesn't stand a chance."
Back in the Arena
Neji was starting to tire as he kept up his attacks. No matter what he tried or where he landed a hit, Menma was able to shrug it off and keep attacking. Neji grit his teeth as another wave of anger rushed through him. He would not lose so easily!
"You know…" Menma began, snapping Neji's attention back to him and out of the battle induced haze his mind was in. "…It's pretty obvious that you're going to lose…" The smirk on the redheads face grew. "Why don't you just give up now before I beat down even more?" The smirk turned into a sneer. "After all, it would be terrible for you to lose without landing a substantial hit on me. You would be one of the only people in the exam to lose a fight without doing so. At least Hinata managed to hurt her opponent."
"Shut up! I will not lose like that weakling!" Neji rushed at him, hand poised to strike. Once he was within reach, he shot his hand forward straight at Menma's heart. Wham! Neji was sent flying back onto the ground by the fast punch to his face. He made to get up, but was stopped when a foot kicked him back more. "Gah!"
"No, you shut up." Menma's tone turned icy. "I don't know what your problem is and I honestly don't care. But I don't like how you've been talking about one of my friends."
Neji pushed himself to his feet. "Deny it all you want. It's true. She is weak." Wham! He was floored again when Menma suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him back.
"Really? Then what are you? You seem pretty weak to me right now…" Neji got to his feet and sent another strike at Menma, but he was too tired to make it as fast as it could have been. Menma simply moved out of the way and countered with his own blow. "I mean, here you are, the supposed prodigy, and yet you are unable to land a single significant hit on me. That seems pretty weak to me…"
"I told you to shut up!" Another dodged strike.
"And I told you no." Another counter that landed. Neji struggled to his feet again, but froze when he felt the cold steel of a kunai pressed up against his throat. "You lose. And you want to know the really funny part? Like you said, Hinata was the one I got to help me develop this counter to your move set. We sparred a bunch over the last month. And in every single one of those spars…I got my ass kicked. She was always able to beat me, even with the counter." Neji's eyes grew wide. "And yet, here you are, the prodigy. Not a single thing you did had any damage done. Think about that when you wake up." Wham!
Before anything else could be said, Menma brought his other hand forward and punched Neji with all of his strength, knocking him out.
The arena was silent as they saw the conclusion of the battle. Genma raised a hand towards Menma. "Winner, Menma of Konoha." The stands immediately exploded into cheers at this.
Menma grinned widely and made a show of bowing and blowing kisses at the crowd before he made his way over to the stairs.
In the Stands
"Ha! Nice one, Menma! You showed that jerk!" Kiba cheered. Saito was grinning from his spot next to him as he clapped.
"That was amazing! That guy didn't stand a chance against him at all!" Ino said as she clapped. She soon turned to Hinata who was sitting nearby. "Is what he said true, Hinata? Did you really help develop that counter?"
Hinata blushed before shyly ducking her head with a small nod. Kushina grinned at this and spoke up. "It's true. Menma sought her out a few weeks ago and got her to help him with making it."
Sakura leaned forward wide eyes as she spoke up. "And the part about never being able to beat her with it?"
"I-it's true…" Hinata said quietly.
"That's awesome, Hinata! You're able to beat a technique that Neji couldn't even make any headway against!" Kiba grinned widely.
This compliment made Hinata's face grow even redder as she ducked her head further.
Sitting nearby was a stunned looking Lee. "Neji-kun lost…" He said in slight disbelief. He turned his head when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder to see Gai.
"My young student, you will learn that there is always someone out there who is able to beat you. And there is always someone out there who is able to beat them. But there is no such thing as someone who is the strongest. With enough hard work, and some planning, then you may overcome any obstacles in your way."
Lee slowly nodded as a smile stretched across his face. If he wanted to beat Neji, Naruto, and now Menma, he needed to work even harder than he did before.
With the Competitors
"No way…Neji actually lost…" Tenten said to herself quietly.
"Told you so." Naruto looked to Narumi. "You look like you enjoyed that…"
She grinned at him. "Heck yeah I did-ttebane! That jerk needed to be punched around like that after what he said about Hinata!"
Naruto nodded. "I'm right there with you. He needed a wakeup call to come around and punch him in the face." He looked towards the entrance as a widely grinning Menma walked in. "Nice one. You completely dominated that entire match." He complimented.
Menma puffed out his chest. "Of course. I'm just that awesome."
"And here comes the inflated ego again…" Narumi said playfully, prompting Menma to stick his tongue out at her.
"Let me enjoy this for a bit! I totally looked like a badass out there."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Right…" It was then he saw Samui making her way towards the exit. He turned towards the stairs. "Well, I guess I'm up next. See you guys afterwards." He waved them off.
"Good luck, Naruto."
"Kick some butt."
"Show them how awesome you are!"
In the Kage Booth
"That last match was interesting…" The Kazekage mused. A shrugged in response.
"Your brat thought that out pretty well, Minato. And he played to his strengths using his large chakra reserves."
Minato nodded as he smiled in pride. "Yes, Menma went to a friend to get her help developing it. They thought of the entire thing together."
"Hm…But he still showed a few hotheaded and cocky traits…" A commented. "That's not something you want in a chūnin. And his opponent was pretty arrogant as well…He tired himself out by growing angry and not controlling himself."
The Hokage nodded in agreement. "We will need to see how Menma does in future matches to judge him further, but I do not think that I will promote Neji based off of what he just showed." He looked at Genma. "It looks like the next match is about to begin."
The Kazekage looked at Minato. "I admit that I have been looking forward to seeing your oldest son in action, Minato-dono. I heard he showed himself to be quite capable up until now…"
There was something in the tone that made Minato uneasy, but he put a smile on his face anyways. "I admit that I have been looking forward to seeing Naruto fight as well. He elected to train on his own over the past month, so I don't know what he had been working on."
A smirked. "Well, I still doubt that he will be able to beat Samui…"
B nodded his head. "Yeah, the winner of this will be Samui. She'll win in a snap, like one, two, three!" This terrible rap got sweat drops all around.
Back in the Arena
Naruto grinned from his spot across form his opponent. "Hey there, let's have a good match." He said.
Samui kept her stoic expression up as she stared at him. After a moment, a small smirk appeared on her face. "That would be cool. I want to have a kenjutsu battle with you." This made Naruto blink in surprise.
"A kenjutsu battle?"
His opponent nodded before she drew her blade and slid into a battle stance. "Yes. Use that weird sword that you used in the preliminaries."
Naruto frowned a bit and glanced around at the large number of people watching. He still felt a little uncomfortable using his keyblade in front of such a large number of people. After a moment of silent thought, he sighed. The fact of the matter was that he would probably need a sword for this fight and people have already seen him use it. Naruto raised a hand and willed his keyblade to appear. It did so in the normal flash of light and darkness. Whispers spread throughout the crowd at the sight of the strange blade.
Samui studied the blade from her spot. "That really is a cool blade. I haven't seen anything like it before…" She said.
Sliding into his own battle stance, Naruto replied with a smirk. "Thanks. I'm really fond of it. I haven't really used it much openly though…"
Back in the Stands
"He's using that weird sword again…" Kiba said. It still was really weird to him that a sword would be designed to look like a giant key.
Saito frowned. "I looked into it over the last month. No matter who I asked or what book I looked in, I couldn't find anything on a blade that looks like that!" It wounded his pride as a weapons specialist that he never even heard of such a sword before.
Asuma took a drag of his cigarette. "I admit that I'm pretty curious as well about the sword." His gaze shifted to Kushina. "Did you ask him about it over the month, Kushina-sama?"
Kushina shook her head with a frown. "I never got the chance to. Naruto disappeared at the beginning of the month. This is the first time I've seen him since the day after the preliminaries."
This statement surprised the others who didn't know. "He disappeared for a month?" Kurenai asked.
Yūgao was the one to answer. "Yeah. I went to talk to him a couple times over the month but he was never home and no one knew where he was. I'm actually planning on talking to him after his match. I never got the chance to thank him…"
Kushina blinked in surprise at that. "Oh, that sounds like a good idea. You mind if I come?" She asked.
"Not at all. I'm sure you were worried about him over the past month."
In the Kage Booth
"I must admit that I find myself extremely curious by such an unusual blade, Hokage-dono." The Kazekage said. "Care to share what exactly it is?"
Minato regarded the man for a moment. "I'm not sure what I can tell you. Naruto apparently obtained the blade at some point a while ago and kept it. He used to use a normal blade, but it was destroyed in the second stage, so he started to use this."
A frowned at the blade. "Is a blade that looks like that really an effective weapon? I'm sure it cuts, but why is it designed like that? Is there some benefit?" Minato shrugged in return.
"I don't know much else about it. I've seen him use it only once before. It works well enough, I can ensure that." He smiled a bit. "Why don't we just watch and see? The match is about to start."
Back in the Arena
Genma looked between the two fighters and raised a hand. "Match two between Samui of Kumo and Naruto of Konoha." A moment of tense silence passed. "Begin!" He brought his hand down and jumped back as Samui and Naruto rushed each other. Clang!
Their blades met in a shower of sparks. The two of them quickly brought their swords back again before attempting to land a hit on each other. Clang! Samui brought her sword back again, but Naruto saw the attack coming and deflected it while stepping around her. Samui was not deterred as she spun around and attempted to land another strike. Naruto stepped out of the way of this one as well and sent a slice at her back.
Samui quickly maneuvered her body out of the way before spinning back around and slashing at Naruto. The crimson blond was able to quickly bring his blade back using the momentum of his previous strike. Samui jumped over the low slash and sent a kick at her opponent while in the air. Naruto moved his head out of the way and swung his sword at Samui while she was still in the air. Clang! Samui got her sword in position in time to block the blow.
Landing on her feet, Samui caught Naruto's wrist as he swung his keyblade at her. This action surprised Naruto enough that he wasn't able to react quickly enough when she maneuvered under his guard and sent a sharp elbow jab into his gut.
"Gah!" Naruto winced. 'Wow, she's pretty good!' Naruto jerked his wrist out of her grasp as he sent a following kick at him and he jumped back to avoid it. Landing on his feet, Naruto immediately rushed back in to reengage. Samui sent a horizontal slash at him, but he ducked under it to get behind her and tried to cut into her back.
Knowing the danger she was in, Samui performed a backflip over Naruto and sent a strike to his head as she did so. Clang! Naruto blocked the strike and followed after her. The moment she landed, Naruto sent a thrust at her that she was barely able to deflect. Samui frowned as she had to jumped back to avoid the strike when Naruto suddenly changed the direction of his attack.
Naruto was quick to pursue her, but had to think quickly when Samui slashed at him. Naruto deflected her attack with his keyblade and attacked in the same movement. Samui's eyes widened she saw him run his sword along hers in order to deflect her blade while he attacked. She immediately performed a couple of backwards somersaults through the air to avoid the attack. This time, Naruto did not follow. The crowd was stunned into silence by the skill shown by the two of them.
The two of them simply stared at each other for a moment before Naruto smirked and broke the silence. "I didn't think I would fight a genin that was this good in kenjutsu. This is pretty fun."
A matching smirk came to Samui's face. "I am surprised as well. This has been a pretty cool fight so far."
It was then that the crowd regained its bearings and started to cheer madly for the two of them, wanting more. The cheering made Naruto grin. "I think they're enjoying it as well." He crouched in preparation. "Why don't we get back to it?" He rushed at her.
With the Competitors
"No way. How is that guy managing to match Samui in a kenjutsu fight? She's the best out of the three of us!" Karui said in disbelief.
"That guy is pretty good as well. What do we do if Samui loses? And then we lose because we were so depressed about it and not able to focus. The Raikage will be so embarrassed that all three of us lost that he will demote us back to academy students. And then…"
"Gah! Shut up! That won't happen, you moron!"
"You don't know that, flat chest…"
"What was that?!"
Shikamaru sighed at the level of noise from the Kumo genin. "Troublesome…Why can't they just be quiet?"
Menma rolled his eyes but didn't look away from the fight. "Just block them out." He watched as Naruto and Samui clashed again. "That girl is really good. But she won't be able to win…" Narumi nodded in agreement.
"Yeah…Nii-chan seems to be enjoying himself. And he isn't even as going as fast as he did during his fight with Lee-san…"
Back in the Arena
Clang! Samui deflected a slash from Naruto and retaliated with a kick to his side. Naruto rolled out of the way, but was place right into the path of a low strike from Samui. Seeing the danger, Naruto immediately jumped above it. Samui was surprised by his reaction time and was unable to stop the slash made on her back. "Guh…" She grit her teeth in pain and spun around to swipe at him, but met nothing but air.
"Like I said, you're pretty good, but you can't keep up with me." Naruto said as he got into a battle stance across from her.
Samui frowned and got into her own stance. "Not cool…" She rushed back at him. Clang! Their blades met and they were locked into a power struggle, but Samui was soon over powered and forced to jump back or be cut down.
Not wanting to give her any more breathing room, Naruto was quick to follow after her. He was slowly starting to speed up as he went. Little by little, more and more cuts were made around Samui's body as she was unable to stop the entire onslaught that Naruto was raining down on her.
Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as their blades met again. Naruto smiled at her. "This has been fun, but I'm ending this now." Before anything more could be said, he stopped applying strength to his blade and ducked under Samui's sword. Not expecting such a move, Samui was thrown off balance and stumbled forward. She quickly spun around before she hit the ground, but was met with a kick to her side.
She was pushed back and nearly into the ground by the strike. Before she hit the ground though, she used the momentum of her fall to roll and get back to her feet. She spun around quickly to swipe at Naruto. Clang!
Shock filled Samui's face when she was immediately disarmed by the strange weapon that he had. She turned her head to see her sword embedded in the ground where it had fallen a dozen feet away. She slowly turned back to the smirking form of Naruto.
"Like I said, you're good. But you shouldn't have called me out to fight in a kenjutsu battle. I spar on a regular basis against someone that's way better than me in kenjutsu." He tilted his head. "So, do you give up? Or do you admit you lost in your own challenge?"
Samui stared at him for a moment longer before smirking and shaking her head. "No, it's cool." She looked to Genma. "I forfeit." She said simply.
Genma nodded and raised a hand towards Naruto. "Winner, Naruto of Konoha." The crowd erupted into cheers as Naruto willed away his keyblade.
"That was fun. Let's do that again sometime." Naruto grinned at her as he offered her a hand.
Samui smirked more before she accepted the hand in a shake. "Sure. That sounds cool to me." She turned and went to retrieve her blade before heading off to get her cuts dealt with.
In the Kage Booth
Minato smirked over at the scowling Raikage. "I'm sorry, did you say something about Naruto losing?" He teased.
"Tch. Don't get cocky. It was just one win."
The smirk on Minato's face only grew when he heard this. "Well, more are going to join it soon."
A scoffed. "We'll see about that. I know that one of mine will win this thing." He turned a menacing look to his brother. "Right?"
B cowered a bit under the look. "Nothing to worry about, bro. I know we'll win this fo sho!" He sighed in relief when A turned away.
With the Competitors
Naruto grinned at his friends when they congratulated him on his win. "Thanks. She was really good. I was surprised to see that there was another genin that was that skilled with a blade."
Narumi grinned at him. "But she still didn't stand a chance against you." This made him shrug.
"I wouldn't say she stood no chance, just that she shouldn't have challenged me to a straight sword fight."
Menma rolled his eyes. "Kami, Aniki. Brag a bit. You won and you did it with style."
Naruto made a noncommittal sound as he watched Tenten and Omoi get into battle stances in the arena. "Naruto." Blinking in surprise, Naruto turned to see Yūgao and Kushina standing in the entrance of the room. Naruto grinned.
"Hey sensei, been a while."
Yūgao grinned back. "I guess it has. You mind if we go somewhere to talk for a bit?" Naruto shrugged.
"Sure. That's fine with me."
Nearby Room
Yūgao led him and Kushina to a nearby instrument storage room. Once they entered, Yūgao closed the door. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked curiously.
"We wanted to thank you." Naruto blinked in surprise and turned to the owner of the voice. Standing in the corner of the room was a smiling Hayate. "This is the first chance that we have had the chance since you saved me."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It was nothing much. I'm just glad you're alright."
Hayate nodded. "It really was a close call. I definitely would have died if you didn't save me."
Yūgao took his hand a sent a bright grin at her student. "That's why we wanted to thank you." She then frowned a bit. "I wanted to do it sooner, but you were never around when I came by."
"Sorry about that. I was staying with someone I know. They helped me train over the past month." Naruto replied.
"Makes sense…" Yūgao paused as a new thought came to her. "But how did you do it? I didn't know you knew any medical techniques…"
"Well…I only learned it recently. And it isn't able to do a perfect job…And it takes a lot of energy for me to do…" What was he supposed to say? He knew magic and one of his spells healed Hayate?
Yūgao smiled and nodded. "I got it. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to one of us. We really owe you for this."
Naruto blushed a bit. "Don't worry about it. I couldn't exactly leave Hayate-san there when I was able to do something to help, could I?" Naruto turned serious. "I'm guessing you managed to warn others of the invasion?" Naruto asked.
The other occupants in the room also turned serious at the subject. Hayate nodded. "Yes. I told Hokage-sama when I woke up in the hospital."
"So people are ready for the attack?"
"Yes. Have you kept quiet about it?"
"Of course. I know this isn't something I can go talk to people about."
"Good." Hayate nodded to him again. "Thank you again for what you've done." He and Yūgao turned and left Kushina and Naruto alone.
There was an awkward silence in the room as neither of them knew what exactly to say. After a minute, Naruto turned towards the door. "Well, I'm going to watch the rest of the match…" Before he could move anywhere, Kushina suddenly wrapped him in a hug. "Wha-?!"
"I was so worried-ttebane! You just stormed out of the house a month ago and disappeared!" Kushina said as she hugged him tightly.
Naruto grimaced and wormed his way out of her arms. "I apologize for doing that. I lost my temper and left in a rude manner." He said neutrally.
Kushina frowned a bit at him and shook her head. "No, that's fine. Jiraiya was an ass and said something he shouldn't have. I made sure to kick his ass." She grinned at him, but it soon turned into a frown. "But that doesn't excuse you for leaving for a month with no contact! What were you thinking young man?!"
Naruto frowned. "I was training with a friend, as I said. It was simpler to just stay there instead of leaving each day and returning."
"But you should have told us!"
"I did. I told you I had plans and not to worry about my training."
Kushina was now scowling. "That isn't telling us! You're twelve years old, and as my child you aren't allowed to just disappear for a month. And we needed to be there to make sure you are properly trained for the Akatsuki."
Naruto's frown turned into a scowl as well. "If the Akatsuki did attack, then we wouldn't even be allowed to fight back. You would just tell us to run, right?" No response. "And I don't see the problem with me leaving for a month to train."
"How can you not see a problem with that?!"
"Because I've been doing it for years!" This answer stunned Kushina into silence. "Nobody has ever cared before, so why do you now?! I've been wondering it for months now, what changed? Why do you suddenly care about me? You haven't been paying any attention to me for years now, but suddenly you do. I don't hate you, but why? What changed?"
Kushina was unable to offer a response as Naruto stared at her. After a minute of waiting, Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I just don't get why you would suddenly go from not caring to caring like that. I have been leaving to go and train with this friend for years now, but nobody has ever noticed until recently."
Eventually, Kushina was able to gather herself enough to respond. "I never stopped caring! How can you possibly think that?"
"Very easily." No hesitation was present. "I can very easily think that. I actually wonder if you do truly care now. It sure seems like Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade still don't. And you know what I realized over the years? If you don't care, then neither should I." He walked around her and out the door.
With the Competitors (Five Minutes Later)
After leaving his shocked mother behind, Naruto left to find another room he could sit in and cool off. He was able to feel some encroachment from the darkness on the edge of his mind. It wasn't enough to impact his thoughts, but it still made him frown at how easily it came upon him. He spent the next few minutes calming himself down before he walked back to the competitor's booth.
"What I miss?" He asked the others.
"Nothing much." Yakumo asked as she watched an exhausted Tenten head towards the infirmary. "Tenten-san lost. It was close, but she wasn't able to keep up with her opponent. It ended with her getting electrocuted into submission."
"Huh, that's a shame…" He looked around. "Uchiha still hasn't shown up? If he doesn't hurry then he will be disqualified…"
Narumi frowned as well. "It isn't fair to him that he had Kakashi-nii training him. That was pretty much an instant disqualification…" She sighed. "It would be nice if we could find a way to stall for him…"
Menma shrugged. "I don't really care either way. He should have accounted for Kakashi-nii's compulsion to always be late." He looked at Naruto. "So where did you, kaa-chan, and Yūgao-sensei go?"
"Yūgao-sensei just took us to an instrument storage room to talk. She was curious about where I was for the last month."
Down in the Arena
Karui smirked at her opponent. "I'm going to enjoy wiping that stupid grin off your face."
Narumi shrugged. "You sure you can manage it? I like to think I'm too fast for someone as slow as you to hit…"
The other redhead's eyebrow started to twitch. "What was that?"
"Oh, are you hard of hearing as well? I said that you're too slow to hit me."
Karui was growling by this point. She slid her blade out of the sheathe and got into a battle stance. "Let's see you say that after I'm done pounding your face in."
Narumi grinned and got into her own battle stance. "Sure, sure. Of course you will." She taunted.
Sighing internally to himself at the simple ploy and how it was actually working, Genma raised a hand. "Match four between Narumi of Konoha and Karui of Kumo, begin!" He swiftly lowered his hand and jumped back Karui rushed forward.
"Take this!" Narumi easily side stepped the slash and countered with a well-aimed kick.
"Is that all you've got?" Narumi challenged with another raised eyebrow. Karui growled again before launching into a fast combo of slashes and swipes. Narumi carefully maneuvered her body out of the way by stepping to the correct place or simply bending her body. "Like I said, you're not fast enough." Narumi would then proceed to deliver a few blows whenever she saw an opening big enough for her to take.
With the Competitors
"Narumi's got this…" Menma observed.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "That girl she is fighting has lost her cool completely. I can tell she has some skill with a blade, but she also has a huge temper. Narumi is using this against her."
"Do you think she is better or worse with a sword than the blond girl you fought?" Yakumo asked.
"I would say that Samui-san is better. Even more so while the girl Narumi is fighting is angry." Naruto watched as his sister danced around the blade and delivered more strikes to her opponent. "This fight won't last long."
The group turned when they heard a sigh. Omoi was standing nearby with a lollipop in his mouth. "I warned that flat chest about losing her temper. But did she listen? Of course not. One day she will lose her cool during a mission, then the enemy will find us and we will be forced to fight, but she won't be able to fight as well as she could because she is mad. And then…"
They sweat dropped when they heard the Kumo Nin begin to ramble.
Back in the Arena
"Why. Don't. You. Sit. Still?!" Karui was panting as another one of her attacks missed completely. She grunted at the returning strike to her abdomen.
"Why would I do that? It isn't my fault that you suck so much you can't even touch me." Narumi taunted.
"I. Don't. Suck!" Why couldn't she hit her?!
"The fact that you haven't hit me yet says otherwise." Narumi said with a shrug.
Karui growled and was about to lash out, but froze. After a moment, she scowled at her opponent. "You've been playing me this entire time."
Narumi grinned cheekily in return. "About time you figured it out." She then crouched low. "I think it's about time we ended this, don't you?" Before anything else could be said, Narumi rushed in at Karui.
Karui quickly tensed in preparation. When Narumi got close enough, she sent a punch forward. Karui smirked and sidestepped the punch, making Narumi's eyes go wide in surprise. "Dodge this one!" Karui brought her blade down on Narumi.
"Gah!" The blade connected with Narumi's chest, making Karui grin widely. Poof! That grin immediately turned into a gape when Narumi's body vanished into a cloud of smoke.
"What?" Wham! Karui was floored by the punch that came to the side of her face. Dazed, she looked up from her spot on the ground to see a grinning Narumi standing above her.
"Aren't Shadow Clones great?" Narumi asked before making a fist. Wham! Karui was promptly knocked out. Narumi stood up and dusted imaginary dirt off of her hands before grinning over to Genma. "So?"
Genma rolled his eyes before raising a hand in her direction. "Winner, Narumi of Konoha!" The crowd cheered in approval as Narumi grinned and waved.
In the Kage Booth
"Well, I do believe that's two of your genin defeated by my children, A." Minato grinned over at the scowling Raikage.
"Whatever. Omoi will still win this entire thing."
Minato's grin grew wider. "Not if Rasa-dono or I have anything to say about it." He turned to the silent Kazekage. "And what say you, Kazekage-dono? Who is your favorite to win?"
"Hm…I would think it would either be Gaara, your eldest, or the Uchiha…" He peered down at the arena. "But it looks like the Uchiha hasn't shown up yet…"
Minato frowned. "Yes, it seems that's true…" He sighed. Minato knew he would have to drag Kushina away from Kakashi's corpse for this. "Unfortunately, rules are rules. Sasuke is going to be disqualified for this."
The Kazekage looked at him. "Do you not think it would be better to give him some time? Perhaps push his match back a bit? There are many people here who have come to see what the last Uchiha is capable of…"
The blond shook his head and eyed the Kazekage. "That may be, but it would be unfair to the others to show favoritism like that. If Sasuke can't show up on time, then he doesn't deserve to be a chūnin."
"Nothing will change your mind?"
"I agree with Minato. If the Uchiha isn't here, then he is disqualified." A said.
"Even with the people who came here just for that?" Minato witheld a grimace at this. As much as he hated to admit it, there would be a good amount of grief thrown his way for disqualifying the Uchiha...
With the Competitors
Naruto was silent as he watched Narumi cheer. With a sigh, he turned and began to walk away.
Noticing this, Shikamaru glanced at him. "Where you going?"
"Taking a walk." Naruto responded without turning back. "Need to clear my head a bit."
In the Stands
Sakura sighed in relief when she heard the announcement. "I'm glad Narumi won…But if Sasuke-kun doesn't show up soon, then he is definitely going to be disqualified…"
Ino grinned at her, but it was obvious that she was worried as well. "Don't sweat it! I'm sure that Sasuke-kun is going to make it. He's probably going to make an awesome entrance too!"
Kiba snorted from his seat nearby. "Doubt it. The bastard is probably going to be late and will be disqualified…" He flinched when two angry glares were immediately turned on him.
The jōnins were having a similar discussion nearby. "Kakashi is really pushing it this time…" Asuma said with a frown.
Kurenai had a small scowl on his face. "I cannot believe that he is making his student late as well. That's too much, even for him."
"Well, maybe Sasuke has picked up on his habits like Lee did with Gai…" Yūgao said before she gave Kushina a concerned look. She placed a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention. "Hey, you alright?"
The redhead blinked before sending a smile at Yūgao, but it was obvious that it was fake. "I'm fine-ttebane! Just thinking about something." She adopted a glare. "I can't believe Kakashi-kun is actually making his student late. I'm going to teach him why that's a mistake!" She growled.
Yūgao frowned a bit and traded a look with Kurenai before looking back to Kushina with a smirk. "Just be sure that we're there to see it."
"Of course."
Kage Booth
The Kazekage looked between them. "Would it not be acceptable for the match to be pushed back? Make it later?" He asked again.
Minato frowned at the man and shook his head. "No. He won't be given any further leeway."
"I must insist. I have been looking forward to this match. He along with your eldest son have caught my attention and I have been looking forward to seeing what they can do."
Minato stared at the man with narrowed eyes. "You know, Kazekage-dono…You seem to have a large amount of interest in both Naruto and Sasuke…" Something in his tone made A prepare himself for whatever may happen.
"Is that not normal? Given who they are, I think I am justified."
"Perhaps. But did you know that there has been a recent intrusion in my village? A certain snake has shown a great amount of interest in them as well…enough to go out of his way to interact with them…" Minato prepared himself to react in an instant if needed. The guards in the room also tensed in preparation.
"Are you implying something, Hokage-dono?"
"…I wouldn't be too surprised if I was told that the same snake managed to disguise himself as a kage and watched the matches with us." Minato tilted his head. "Why don't you manipulate a little gold to prove who you are?"
Dead silence. Nobody in the booth moved an inch as they waited for someone else to act first.
BOOM!
There we go! All done with Chapter 26!
What color is the Kazekage hat? Is it green, blue, or turquoise? It was blue when Orochimaru wore it, but green is what the wiki says. Plus, the Mizukage hat is blue...
Sorry for the terrible fights. I feel that I've improved since I first started, but I still don't like writing them.
I was split between using This Will Be the Day and Time to Say Goodbye. It was a hard decision for me.
Rushed the ending there a bit. I really wanted to get this thing out but I have something else I still need to do today.
It's starting!
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943